Friday, August 10, 2007

Customers created eatery menu
ATCHISON — The Marigold Bakery-Café is all its name says, with marigolds and other flowers growing outside and sandwiches, salads, soups, desserts and baked goods inside.

Suber: Outbreak a warning to get prepared
England's latest outbreak of the highly contagious animal foot-and-mouth disease or, if one prefers, hoof-and-mouth, is yet another warning flare of the massive disruption in commerce and way of life that could happen here should we be so plagued.

Westar quarter earnings drop
Westar Energy Inc. reported Wednesday that earnings fell 7.6 percent in the second quarter, partly because of cool rainy weather. The state's largest electric utility said it earned $32.5 million, or 36 cents per share, for the second quarter 2007 compared with $35.1 million, or 40 cents per share, for the second quarter 2006.

KDHE issues penalties against restaurants
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment issued a civil penalty against the Great Wall Chinese Restaurant, 1336 S.W. 17th, for violations of the Kansas Food Code, the state said Thursday.

Kansas seeking DB depth
LAWRENCE — The Kansas football team saw its fair share of dramatic comebacks in 2006. Unfortunately for the Jayhawks, they endured the late-game heroics of opponents more often than they celebrated their own.

Briefs
 Kansas freshman soccer player Emily Cressy appears in the Aug. 13 issue of Sports Illustrated in the "Faces in the Crowd" section. Cressy led her under-17 U.S. youth team to a national title earlier this month, earning the most outstanding player award in the tournament.

Judge acquits Seneca teen accused of arson
A 14-year-old boy was acquitted Wednesday in Nemaha County District Court on an arson charge that accused him of starting the March 10 fire that destroyed much of the Seneca Grade School and Nemaha Valley Junior High School building.

Bridge gas tax may not span all U.S.
Rep. Jerry Moran questioned Thursday whether a proposed national gas tax for bridge repairs might in fact hurt Kansas, saying he instead favors a plan that addresses all infrastructure.

Manhattan rape reported
MANHATTAN — A 20-year-old Manhattan woman told authorities Tuesday that she had been raped by a man armed with a gun.

Reservists to receive welcome home
MANHATTAN — The community and the military will honor 13 Army Reserve soldiers of the 535th Transportation Company, based in Manhattan, with a "welcome home" ceremony today.

Kansans wanna be soap stars
While most people aim to eliminate the drama from their lives, former Topekan Monica Thomas wants more of it.

New jazz series starts Sunday
The 39th edition of the Topeka Jazz Workshop Inc. Concert Series will open Sunday with a concert by the Topeka Jazz Workshop Band, with guest saxophonist David Sharp.

Former Monkee to perform in Manhattan
MANHATTAN — Hey, hey, it's a Monkee. Peter Tork, of "The Monkees" television series fame, will play a free concert with his current group, Shoe Suede Blues, at 8 p.m. Saturday in City Park, 1101 Freemont, as part of Manhattan Parks and Recreation Department's Arts in the Parks concert series. To sample Tork's current music, go to www.petertork.com.

School fair scheduled
Community Action Inc.'s Back to School Fair will be from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at the Kansas Expocentre.

Heights students grieve teacher who drowned
Blending tears and laughter, former and current Shawnee Heights High School girls soccer team members gathered Wednesday evening at Jake's Fireworks, 2009 S.E. 45th, to support each other in the loss of teacher and coach Rich Heyroth.

Severe weather hits area
SABETHA — Two inches of rain fell in 30 minutes Wednesday night, prompting the National Weather Service to issue a flash-flood warning for Nemaha County.

Fallen officer to be honored
The Riley County Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 17, in conjunction with the Riley County Police Department, will conduct a ceremony today to honor officer Don Harbour, who was killed Aug. 9, 1982, while on duty in Ogden.

TPD to host driving course
The Topeka Police Department will host a National Safety Council Defensive Driving Course from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Aug. 25 at the department, 320 S. Kansas Ave.

Police seek public's help in shooting death
Topeka police detectives, trying to develop more leads, are asking for assistance in identifying the person involved in the shooting death of Corey T. Robinson, 26, of Topeka.

Former city clerk admits theft
Catherine Walsh, former city clerk of Robinson in Brown County, has pleaded guilty to one count of theft and two counts of making false information in connection with crimes related to her gambling addiction.

Woman injured in 1-vehicle accident
A woman was taken by ambulance to a Topeka hospital with what police said were life-threatening injuries Thursday night after she was ejected from her car in a one-vehicle crash in southeast Topeka.

Youth group raises money for trip
The Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church youth group will conduct a food sale today through Sunday to raise money to help send 22 teenagers to the National Catholic Youth Conference in Columbus, Ohio, in November.

HRC conference canceled
The Human Relations Commission's Equality Conference scheduled for Saturday has been canceled due to low pre-registration.

Commission off today
The Shawnee County Commission won't meet today. Commissioners had voted in June to cancel this week's Thursday meeting. Commissioners will meet at 9 a.m. Monday in their chambers at the county courthouse, 200 S.E. 7th.

IT error: He said, she said
Shawnee County financial administrator Marti Leisinger said Thursday a city employee who contacted her office Aug. 1 to learn how much the county budgeted for its information/technology department for 2008 failed to ask the one person who would have known.

Keynote speaker stresses inclusion of disabled
Dale DiLeo, a nationally recognized disabilities advocate and consultant, spoke of a lack of inclusion of the disabled during his keynote speech at the 10th annual Kansas Disability Caucus on Thursday afternoon at the Capitol Plaza Hotel.

KDOT leader orders visual inspections of bridges
The state's top transportation official changed her mind and ordered a quick visual inspection of three northeast Kansas bridges similar in design to the one that collapsed last week in Minnesota.

Gunfire damages Topeka house
Gerald Chase had just come home from work Wednesday night when he heard the "boom, boom, boom" of gunshots in his neighborhood.

Back-to-school rally gets employees pumped up
Chase Middle School teachers Sarah Hazen, Jill Valkenaar and Ashley Ortiz on Thursday were wearing stethoscopes around their necks and blue scrubs with orange lettering that read "CMS." They also carried face masks and had rubber gloves hanging from their pockets.

Q-and-A on proposed IT merger
How much did Shawnee County information technology director Bill Singer and former Topeka IT director Steve Tallen estimate last year that a merger of city and county IT departments would save taxpayers?

Girl injured in car-pedestrian accident on S.W. 21st
A 14-year-old girl was taken by ambulance to a Topeka hospital on Wednesday afternoon with nonlife-threatening injuries after she was struck by a car while crossing a busy west-side street during rush-hour traffic, authorities said.

Group pulls out of deal to buy Sumner School
The Pioneer Group has opted not to purchase the former Sumner School, meaning the city of Topeka will open negotiations to sell the historic building at 330 S.W. Western Ave. to a local nonprofit organization, Community First.

Topekan indicted on explosives charges
Allan L. Counts Jr., 32, of Topeka, has been charged in U.S. District Court with one count of conspiracy to steal explosive materials and one count of unlawful possession of explosives.

Headlines are tricky on Iraq debate
The Senate's all-night debate over an Iraq troop withdrawal was a news event guaranteed to generate headlines. But the manner in which newspapers covered the story shaped public perception about who did what and why.

End impunity for U.S. contractors in Iraq
In Iraq and Afghanistan, the U.S. government is employing private companies in areas of conflict to an unprecedented extent. A 2006 Pentagon census estimates approximately 100,000 U.S. government contractor personnel in Iraq alone, not including subcontractors. They perform a variety of roles ranging from logistics, reconstruction and security to training military personnel, and operating and maintaining weapons systems. But when contractor employees reportedly torture detainees and shoot at civilians in Iraq, nothing is done to investigate and hold the companies and individuals accountable.

Don't let your child go into journalism
The New York Times reports a new and shocking trend at universities: they're charging extra for courses in lucrative fields, business for example. That's not the shocking part. Universities have always charged more for graduate courses in fields that promised students higher paychecks when they got out of school. Moving the practice over to undergraduate education is merely an extension of that.

Let's 'drink local' too
In a triumph of marketing over reasoning, the bottled water industry has turned us into conspicuously silly consumers.

Ward: Check out area's smaller lakes
There is something to be said about the smaller lakes in Northeast Kansas. The fishing is good and you do not have the large power boats and jet skis running up and down the water. Now don't get me wrong, I enjoy going fast on the large reservoirs pulling my grandchildren on skis, but I enjoy the quiet time on the small lakes fishing or camping. Some of the smaller lakes also allow hunting.

Vikings favored in HAAC poll
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — An 8-3 record wasn't good enough to get Benedictine in the NAIA football playoffs last season, but that was the price paid for playing in the tough Heart of America Conference.

Cuddyer, Santana too much for Royals
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Michael Cuddyer's towering home run keyed Minnesota's biggest inning in more than a month, and Johan Santana won his ninth straight decision against Kansas City with an 11-4 romp Wednesday night.

Davies, Royals shut out Twins, 1-0
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Alarmed at the way his hands seemed to be flying around in a shaky first inning, Kyle Davies consulted with Royals pitching coach Bob McClure and got some simple advice.

New tax law brings caution
Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius warned Thursday that a new Missouri tax law that hits Kansans in the pocketbook could lead to legislative retaliation. Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt responded that he favors repealing the law.

Ichabods hosting public scrimmage tonight
With the season opener in 15 days, the Washburn football team will conduct their major fall scrimmage at 7 tonight at Yager Stadium. The scrimmage is open to the public.